Obliviousness Ensues
by I'm A Writing Dreamer
Summary: "I just wanted to make an entrance." "Everyone makes mistakes. You're not above them." "Please, Annabeth. I couldn't hurt a fly." In which Annabeth Chase is desperately in love, and everyone but her knows. Rated K just because.


**Happy Valentines Day! In celebration, here is a Percabeth one-shot.**

**Hoping to see lots more on this site.**

**I do not own the characters. They have their significant others for that.**

Annabeth doesn't understand.

Her best friend, Grover had left to go to a summer camp before 7th grade. Now that he was back for the first day, he was shuffling his feet a lot.

"Grover?" she called out. He turned to her, the biggest grin in the world etched onto his face. "Are you okay?"

Grover nodded, his head bobbing on the seat in front of him. "Fine."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. Even at 12, she knew how to do these facial expressions. "Are you really, Grover?"

Grover nodded, and Annabeth frowned. Was Grover nervous about going back to school?

"Listen..." Grover took a huge gulp of air, and Annabeth turned to him. "At the summer camp, I met this guy and girl. Their names were Percy and Juniper."

"Oh," Annabeth said, feeling numb. Grover had found better friends.

Grover, as if sensing this, shook his head. "No, no, Annabeth. They're just friends. And they go to our school too. You're gonna meet them."

Annabeth blinked. Who in their right mind would go to MS-54? Then Annabeth shook her head. She was calling herself, and Grover, insane.

"I'd be delighted to meet them, Grover."

And delighted to meet them she was. They came up to their table during lunch.

"Hi," the girl said, her voice quiet. "I'm Juniper."

She put her hand out to shake Annabeth's and wanting to be polite, Annabeth stood up before taking her hand.

"I'm Annabeth."

Juniper smiled and shook Grover's hand, telling him it was great to see him again.

And then...

And then.

All Annabeth saw was a blur of black and green before arms were wrapped around her.

It dawned on her a second later that she was being hugged.

_By a stranger._

"Get off!" Annabeth mumbled against his hair. From the hug she judged that it was indeed a 'he'. Behind her, Grover and Juniper were laughing so hard, they were starting to turn red.

"Oh Percy," Juniper breathed as he began to pull away from Annabeth. "Always have to make an interest."

People from the neighboring tables were looking over, amused.

"You are?" he asked Annabeth.

Annabeth narrowed her eyes and shoved him. This caused Grover to laugh. "You're the one who tackled me with a hug. Shouldn't you know?"

Percy shrugged. "I saw Juni and Grover here. Had to make an entrance."

Grover moved over and clapped his back. "You succeeded, bro. And that's Annabeth."

Percy's eyes widened, and Annabeth noticed they were green. Sea-green, to be exact, with tints of blue here and there.

"This is your best friend?" Grover nodded. Percy turned to Annabeth. "You have very scary eyes. Thought I should get that out there."

Annabeth smiled. She was getting this warm feeling. She hoped it would stay.

OOoOO

Annabeth didn't understand this weird feeling she was getting. They were freshmen, and Annabeth had begged Percy to take art with her, even though he was horrible at it.

The girl who sat on his left, Rachel Elizabeth Dare, had offered to help him figure out how to mix the watercolors. Just seeing Percy enthusiastic had made bile rise in Annabeth's throat.

She hoped this feeling would go away, because it was making her feel weird.

OOoOO

Annabeth was happy. It was the last day of junior year.

"Whoa, Annabeth. I get that it's the last day, but no need to be this happy," Percy, her best friend, said. When Grover and Juniper started getting closer and closer, it made Percy and Annabeth feel awkward. They hung out, and realized they got along well, even if they mostly tease and bicker.

Annabeth shook her head, her blonde curls moving with her. She hated them, but Percy once told her he loved them. And when she'd given him the look that said "cut the crap", he'd rolled his eyes, then begun playing with it. He still played with her hair whenever they were alone.

"Luke Castellan asked me out."

Percy eyebrows knitted together, and Annabeth thought it was cute. "That guy you tutored in math?"

Annabeth's smile was warranted as yes. "When?" Percy asked.

"Two Saturdays before school starts. I'm going on my trip, so I can't go before that."

Percy's face fell, and Annabeth knew it wasn't just because of the date. Maybe it was because of the trip.

"You're leaving tomorrow, right?"

Annabeth nodded. "But I'll text and Skype whenever I can."

Percy looked relieved, before it melted into confusion. "Two Saturdays before school starts?"

Annabeth's smile wavered. Whatever had made Percy's voice sound a little sad was serious. She knew it.

"Is there something wrong?" she inquired.

Usually, unless it hurt her, Percy always told her what was up. But this time, all he did was hug her and walk away, yelling out a promise to see her soon over his shoulder.

A heavy stone sat in her stomach, tangled with confusion and questions.

It stayed with her during her trip.

OOoOO

She didn't realize what it was until she was on her date with Luke.

"Can you believe it's August eighteenth already?" he asked her in between his speech about how awful school was. She froze.

August eighteenth. How could she forget? It was Percy's birthday. His _17th birthday_, to be exact.

And she wasn't with him

"You okay?" Luke questioned when he say her smile fall. She nodded.

And when he was about drop her off at her house, she requested him to drop her off at Percy's.

"Are you gonna yell at him or something?" Luke joked. "Maybe he forgot your birthday."

It was funny how people expected Percy to forget these things, and not her. And in reality, the opposite happened.

Annabeth waited until Luke drove away before getting the key from under the flowerpot and unlocking the door. It was around 10:30, but she knew Percy would be awake.

He was in the kitchen with Grover and Juniper. It ached her that as his best friend, she wasn't here.

"What are you saying?" Grover questioned in a hushed voice.

Percy bit his lip. "He dated Thalia all summer."

"So..." Juniper hesitated. "He's cheating on them?"

Percy nodded. "But while Luke was at his date with Annabeth," her heart soared at the mention of her name, "she sneaked in and set up a trap. There's a camera that's gonna record it."

Wait. Cheated. Luke. Luke was cheating on Thalia? By going on a date with Annabeth?

Maybe it was just a friendly outing, but Annabeth remembered that he said "Date." So clearly that she couldn't forget it.

"You're telling me," she called out, causing all three of them to jump as she came in, "that the guy who I just went on a date with has a girlfriend?"

Grover and Juniper gave sheepish looks and stared at the counter, whereas Percy just nodded.

Annabeth wanted to say something, but Grover and Juniper stood up. "We have to go," they muttered.

Grover gave Percy a man-hug, and Juniper kissed his cheek as they both wished him a 'happy birthday' before walking out. Annabeth began playing with her fingers.

"Hey," she said, suddenly feeling small. Percy moved over to the stool next to her.

"Hey you," he replied in a happy voice, shoving her a little for effect. "I thought you'd go back home."

"I made a mistake," she murmured so low that no one would've heard her. But Percy knew her, and he knew exactly what he said.

"Everyone makes mistake. You're not above them," he thought out loud, then gave her a look that said he was awaiting her praise. She playfully shoved him.

"It's your birthday, idiot. I should've stayed here."

Percy rolled his eyes. "And done what?" When Annabeth wasn't convinced, he put his arm around her. "It's fine, Annabeth."

A sniffling sound came out of nowhere, and before either of them could process what was happening, Annabeth was full out crying, and Percy was letting her cry on his shoulder.

"What a happy birthday," Percy remarked once she stopped.

OOoOO

Everyone found out about Luke Castellan, Thalia Grace, and Annabeth Chase's wonderful little story over the summer. Luke and Thalia had already graduated, so that left Annabeth to receive all the heat. And by heat, she means looks of disgust and loathing, hurtful words floating around. The only person who actually saw how this was affecting her was Percy. Of course.

And then, as if a miracle, the rumors suddenly stopped in mid-November. And even though she was glad they'd stopped, she was still wondering how. Why?

"It's probably nothing," Percy said when she asked him. "Who knows? Maybe someone told them to knock it off."

But she wouldn't rest. She needed answers. And she was going to get them. So she asked Leo.

"You don't know?" He sounded surprised. When she nodded, he frowned. "'I thought you'd know."

"Dammit, Leo. Why don't you just tell me?" was her reply.

"Percy told everyone that he was personally gonna make everyone's life hell if they kept teasing you."

Annabeth blinked in surprise. Then laughed. "Are you sure _Percy_ said that? He couldn't hurt a fly."

Leo shrugged, and Annabeth let him go.

"Why would you do that?" she asked him when they were studying after school in his room.

He looked up at her. "Didn't you like it?"

"Like it, Percy? That doesn't matter. I'm asking you why you did that?"

He exhaled. "I don't think we're talking about the same thing. I'm talking about my little speech in History class."

"And I'm talking about people bullying me," she snapped back.

Percy's eyebrows knit together, and Annabeh thought it was still cute. "I thought they stopped."

"They did..." she said slowly as Percy went back to his paper. She knew he would never admit to having scared everyone out of bullying her. "But I heard something interesting."

"Heard what?"

"That you told people you were gonna make their life hell if they didn't stop."

Just like she anticipated, he froze. He looked up at her with wide eyes, then forced out a laugh.

"Don't be crazy, Annabeth. I couldn't hurt a fly."

She let it go.

OOoOO

"What's wrong?"

It was the week before Valentine's Day, and they were eating lunch. Percy was in the library looking for some book, and he dragged Grover with him.

Juniper shook her head. "It's nothing."

Annabeth frowned at her. "Is it Grover?"

Juniper laughed, before shaking her head again. "It's actually Percy."

"Percy?"

"Percy... and you."

"I don't understand."

Juniper leaned back in her seat and groaned. Annabeth smiled at her antics. "I meant how you feel about him."

The blonde shrugged. "He's my best friend."

Juniper gave her a look that seemed to say 'don't mess with me'. "Describe Percy for me, Annabeth."

For some strange reason, she bit her lip. "He's a nice person..."

"Are you in fifth grade?"

"Okay!" She defended, rolling her eyes. "He's got dark hair, and I can never understand the color of it. Like, is it black or dark brown? And he's got amazing eyes that always seem to be reflecting the ocean." At Juniper's nod, she continued. "His eyes are always bright, and he's almost always happy. But when someone hurts someone he really cares about, his eyes turn dark. Like a hurricane. And an angry Percy is definitely something no one should awaken.

"His eyebrows always knit together when he's working on something he can't understand, and his eyes always crinkle when he laughs." She stopped at the triumphant look on Juniper's face. "What?"

Juniper just laughed. "Nothing."

"It's something. Tell me."

Juniper's giggles subsided as she stared at Annabeth. "It's just that you two are in love with each other, and you don't even know it."

"We are not in love!"

Juniper rolled her eyes. "Right."

But Annabeth noticed that when Percy and Grover came back, Percy opted for the seat next to her instead of the one next to Grover. And his arms would always brush with hers.

Then there were moments when he would randomly squeeze her hand, and he would always know just when a strand of her hair was about to come in front of her face. He would push it back before she could even raise her hand.

She didn't know why, but the warm feeling from when she first met Percy started to come back every time he would hug her.

OOoOO

She looked deep into his sea-green eyes, wondering if she should tell him.

"Annabeth," he repeated firmly. "What's wrong?"

She tore away her gaze, letting in rest on his hand that was gripping hers.

"Annabeth," he whined this time. "You're worrying me."

She decided she would tell him. After all, what's the worst that could happen?

"Percy, I..." Was it just her or was the temperature suddenly hot? "I need to tell you something."

He stared at her expectantly.

"It's hard for me to say," she managed to say.

He rolled his eyes. "Then show me."

"What?"

"Since you can't say it," he said slowly, as if she were a child. "Then show me. You have to be able to do that, right?"

And she showed him. She used the hand he was gripping to pull him down, then kissed him.

She expected him to be surprised, yes, but she did not expect him to kiss her back as if he was expecting this.

As if he were waiting.

"You're so oblivious," he muttered when he pulled back. She rolled her eyes and kissed him again.

**Review and tell me if you think it sucked. Because I thought so.**


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